II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1463

To establish a program to provide assistance for programs of credit and

other financial services for microenterprises in developing countries, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 29, 1999

Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. TORRICELLI, Ms. COLLINS, Mr.

DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. CHAFEE, and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To establish a program to provide assistance for programs

of credit and other financial services for microenterprises

in developing countries, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Microenterprise for

5 Self-Reliance Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.

7 The Congress makes the following findings and dec8 larations:
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1 (1) According to the World Bank, more than

2 1,200,000,000 people in the developing world, or

3 one-fifth of the world’s population, subsist on less

4 than $1 a day.

5 (2) Over 32,000 of their children die each day

6 from largely preventable malnutrition and disease.

7 (3)(A) Women in poverty generally have larger

8 work loads and less access to educational and eco9 nomic opportunities than their male counterparts.

10 (B) Directly aiding the poorest of the poor, es11 pecially women, in the developing world has a posi12 tive effect not only on family incomes, but also on

13 child nutrition, health and education, as women in

14 particular reinvest income in their families.

15 (4)(A) The poor in the developing world, par16 ticularly women, generally lack stable employment

17 and social safety nets.

18 (B) Many turn to self-employment to generate

19 a substantial portion of their livelihood. In Africa,

20 over 80 percent of employment is generated in the

21 informal sector of the self-employed poor.

22 (C) These poor entrepreneurs are often trapped

23 in poverty because they cannot obtain credit at rea24 sonable rates to build their asset base or expand

25 their otherwise viable self-employment activities.
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1 (D) Many of the poor are forced to pay interest

2 rates as high as 10 percent per day to money lend3 ers.

4 (5)(A) The poor are able to expand their in5 comes and their businesses dramatically when they

6 can access loans at reasonable interest rates.

7 (B) Through the development of self-sustaining

8 microfinance programs, poor people themselves can

9 lead the fight against hunger and poverty.

10 (6)(A) On February 2–4, 1997, a global Micro11 credit Summit was held in Washington, District of

12 Columbia, to launch a plan to expand access to cred13 it for self-employment and other financial and busi14 ness services to 100,000,000 of the world’s poorest

15 families, especially the women of those families, by

16 2005. While this scale of outreach may not be

17 achievable in this short-time frame, the realization of

18 this goal could dramatically alter the face of global

19 poverty.

20 (B) With an average family size of five, achiev21 ing this goal will mean that the benefits of micro22 finance will thereby reach nearly half of the world’s

23 more than 1,000,000,000 absolute poor people.

24 (7)(A) Nongovernmental organizations, such as

25 those that comprise the Microenterprise Coalition
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1 (such as the Grameen Bank (Bangladesh,) K–REP

2 (Kenya), and networks such as Accion International,

3 the Foundation for International Community Assist4 ance (FINCA), and the credit union movement) are

5 successful in lending directly to the very poor.

6 (B) Microfinance institutions such as BRAC

7 (Bangladesh), BancoSol (Bolivia), SEWA Bank

8 (India), and ACEP (Senegal) are regulated financial

9 institutions that can raise funds directly from the

10 local and international capital markets.

11 (8)(A) Microenterprise institutions not only re12 duce poverty, but also reduce the dependency on for13 eign assistance.

14 (B) Interest income on the credit portfolio is

15 used to pay recurring institutional costs, assuring

16 the long-term sustainability of development assist17 ance.

18 (9) Microfinance institutions leverage foreign

19 assistance resources because loans are recycled, gen20 erating new benefits to program participants.

21 (10)(A) The development of sustainable micro22 finance institutions that provide credit and training,

23 and mobilize domestic savings, are critical compo24 nents to a global strategy of poverty reduction and

25 broad-based economic development.
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1 (B) In the efforts of the United States to lead

2 the development of a new global financial architec3 ture, microenterprise should play a vital role. The

4 recent shocks to international financial markets

5 demonstrate how the financial sector can shape the

6 destiny of nations. Microfinance can serve as a pow7 erful tool for building a more inclusive financial sec8 tor which serves the broad majority of the world’s

9 population including the very poor and women and

10 thus generate more social stability and prosperity.

11 (C) Over the last two decades, the United

12 States has been a global leader in promoting the

13 global microenterprise sector, primarily through its

14 development assistance programs at the United

15 States Agency for International Development. Addi16 tionally, the United States Department of the Treas17 ury and the Department of State have used their au18 thority to promote microenterprise in the develop19 ment programs of international financial institutions

20 and the United Nations.

21 (11)(A) In 1994, the United States Agency for

22 International Development launched the ‘‘Micro23 enterprise Initiative’’ in partnership with the Con24 gress.
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1 (B) The initiative committed to expanding

2 funding for the microenterprise programs of the

3 Agency, and set a goal that, by the end of fiscal year

4 1996, half of all microenterprise resources would

5 support programs and institutions that provide cred6 it to the poorest, with loans under $300.

7 (C) In order to achieve the goal of the micro8 credit summit, increased investment in microcredit

9 institutions serving the poorest will be critical.

10 (12) Providing the United States share of the

11 global investment needed to achieve the goal of the

12 microcredit summit will require only a small increase

13 in United States funding for international micro14 credit programs, with an increased focus on institu15 tions serving the poorest.

16 (13)(A) In order to reach tens of millions of the

17 poorest with microcredit, it is crucial to expand and

18 replicate successful microcredit institutions.

19 (B) These institutions need assistance in devel20 oping their institutional capacity to expand their

21 services and tap commercial sources of capital.

22 (14) Nongovernmental organizations have dem23 onstrated competence in developing networks of local

24 microfinance institutions and other assistance deliv-
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1 ery mechanisms so that they reach large numbers of

2 the very poor, and achieve financial sustainability.

3 (15) Recognizing that the United States Agency

4 for International Development has developed very ef5 fective partnerships with nongovernmental organiza6 tions, and that the Agency will have fewer missions

7 to carry out its work, the Agency should place pri8 ority on investing in those nongovernmental network

9 institutions that meet performance criteria through

10 the central funding mechanisms of the Agency.

11 (16) By expanding and replicating successful

12 microcredit institutions, it should be possible to cre13 ate a global infrastructure to provide financial serv14 ices to the world’s poorest families.

15 (17)(A) The United States can provide leader16 ship to other bilateral and multilateral development

17 agencies as such agencies expand their support to

18 the microenterprise sector.

19 (B) The United States should seek to improve

20 coordination among G–7 countries in the support of

21 the microenterprise sector in order to leverage the

22 investment of the United States with that of other

23 donor nations.

24 (18) Through increased support for microenter25 prise, especially credit for the poorest, the United
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1 States can continue to play a leadership role in the

2 global effort to expand financial services and oppor3 tunity to 100,000,000 of the poorest families on the

4 planet.

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

6 The purposes of this Act are—

7 (1) to make microenterprise development an im8 portant element of United States foreign economic

9 policy and assistance;

10 (2) to provide for the continuation and expan11 sion of the commitment of the United States Agency

12 for International Development to the development of

13 microenterprise institutions as outlined in its 1994

14 Microenterprise Initiative;

15 (3) to support and develop the capacity of

16 United States and indigenous nongovernmental or17 ganization intermediaries to provide credit, savings,

18 training and technical services to microentre19 preneurs;

20 (4) to increase the amount of assistance de21 voted to credit activities designed to reach the poor22 est sector in developing countries, and to improve

23 the access of the poorest, particularly women, to

24 microenterprise credit in developing countries; and
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1 (5) to encourage the United States Agency for

2 International Development to coordinate micro3 finance policy, in consultation with the Department

4 of the Treasury and the Department of State, and

5 to provide global leadership in promoting micro6 enterprise for the poorest among bilateral and multi7 lateral donors.

8 SEC. 4. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSIST9 ANCE.

10 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

11 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating the second section 129 (as

13 added by section 4 of the Torture Victims Relief Act

14 of 1998 (Public Law 105–320)) as section 130; and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sec16 tion:

17 ‘‘SEC. 131. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT AS18 SISTANCE.

19 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—The Congress finds

20 and declares that—

21 ‘‘(1) the development of microenterprise is a

22 vital factor in the stable growth of developing coun23 tries and in the development of free, open, and equi24 table international economic systems;
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1 ‘‘(2) it is therefore in the best interest of the

2 United States to assist the development of micro3 enterprises in developing countries; and

4 ‘‘(3) the support of microenterprise can be

5 served by programs providing credit, savings, train6 ing, and technical assistance.

7 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—(1) In carrying out this part,

8 the President is authorized to provide grant assistance for

9 programs to increase the availability of credit and other

10 services to microenterprises lacking full access to capital

11 and training through—

12 ‘‘(A) grants to microfinance institutions for the

13 purpose of expanding the availability of credit, sav14 ings, and other financial services to microentre15 preneurs;

16 ‘‘(B) training, technical assistance, and other

17 support for microenterprises to enable them to make

18 better use of credit, to better manage their enter19 prises, and to increase their income and build their

20 assets;

21 ‘‘(C) capacity building for microfinance institu22 tions in order to enable them to better meet the

23 credit and training needs of microentrepreneurs; and

24 ‘‘(D) policy and regulatory programs at the

25 country level that improve the environment for
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1 microfinance institutions that serve the poor and

2 very poor.

3 ‘‘(2) Assistance authorized under paragraph (1) shall

4 be provided through organizations that have a capacity to

5 develop and implement microenterprise programs, includ6 ing particularly—

7 ‘‘(A) United States and indigenous private and

8 voluntary organizations;

9 ‘‘(B) United States and indigenous credit

10 unions and cooperative organizations;

11 ‘‘(C) other indigenous governmental and non12 governmental organizations; or

13 ‘‘(D) business development services, including

14 indigenous craft programs.

15 ‘‘(3) In carrying out sustainable poverty-focused pro16 grams under paragraph (1), 50 percent of all microenter17 prise resources shall be used for direct support of pro18 grams under this subsection through practitioner institu19 tions that provide credit and other financial services to

20 the poorest with loans of $300 or less in 1995 United

21 States dollars and can cover their costs of credit programs

22 with revenue from lending activities or that demonstrate

23 the capacity to do so in a reasonable time period.

24 ‘‘(4) The President should continue support for cen25 tral mechanisms and missions that—
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1 ‘‘(A) provide technical support for field mis2 sions;

3 ‘‘(B) strengthen the institutional development

4 of the intermediary organizations described in para5 graph (2);

6 ‘‘(C) share information relating to the provision

7 of assistance authorized under paragraph (1) be8 tween such field missions and intermediary organiza9 tions; and

10 ‘‘(D) support the development of nonprofit glob11 al microfinance networks, including credit union sys12 tems, that—

13 ‘‘(i) are able to deliver very small loans

14 through a vast grassroots infrastructure based

15 on market principles; and

16 ‘‘(ii) act as wholesale intermediaries pro17 viding a range of services to microfinance retail

18 institutions, including financing, technical as19 sistance, capacity building and safety and

20 soundness accreditation.

21 ‘‘(5) Assistance provided under this subsection may

22 only be used to support microenterprise programs and

23 may not be used to support programs not directly related

24 to the purposes described in paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘(c) MONITORING SYSTEM.—In order to maximize

2 the sustainable development impact of the assistance au3 thorized under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator of the

4 United States Agency for International Development shall

5 establish a monitoring system that—

6 ‘‘(1) establishes performance goals for such as7 sistance and expresses such goals in an objective and

8 quantifiable form, to the extent feasible;

9 ‘‘(2) establishes performance indicators to be

10 used in measuring or assessing the achievement of

11 the goals and objectives of such assistance;

12 ‘‘(3) provides a basis for recommendations for

13 adjustments to such assistance to enhance the sus14 tainable development impact of such assistance, par15 ticularly the impact of such assistance on the very

16 poor, particularly poor women; and

17 ‘‘(4) provides a basis for recommendations for

18 adjustments to measures for reaching the poorest of

19 the poor, including proposed legislation containing

20 amendments to improve paragraph (3).

21 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) There are authorized

23 to be appropriated $152,000,000 for fiscal year

24 2000 and $167,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 to carry

25 out this section.
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1 ‘‘(B) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the au2 thorization of appropriations under subparagraph

3 (A) are authorized to remain available until ex4 pended.

5 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Amounts au6 thorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1) are

7 in addition to amounts otherwise available to carry

8 out this section.’’.

9 SEC. 5. MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

10 CREDITS.

11 Section 108 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

12 (22 U.S.C. 2151f) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 108. MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

14 CREDITS.

15 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—The Congress finds

16 and declares that—

17 ‘‘(1) the development of micro- and small enter18 prises are a vital factor in the stable growth of de19 veloping countries and in the development and sta20 bility of a free, open, and equitable international

21 economic system; and

22 ‘‘(2) it is, therefore, in the best interests of the

23 United States to assist the development of the enter24 prises of the poor in developing countries and to en-
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1 gage the United States private sector in that proc2 ess.

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—To carry out the policy set forth in

4 subsection (a), the President is authorized to provide as5 sistance to increase the availability of credit to micro- and

6 small enterprises lacking full access to credit, including

7 through—

8 ‘‘(1) loans and guarantees to credit institutions

9 for the purpose of expanding the availability of cred10 it to micro- and small enterprises;

11 ‘‘(2) training programs for lenders in order to

12 enable them to better meet the credit needs of

13 microentrepreneurs; and

14 ‘‘(3) training programs for microentrepreneurs

15 in order to enable them to make better use of credit

16 and to better manage their enterprises.

17 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—The Administrator of

18 the United States Agency for International Development

19 shall establish criteria for determining which entities de20 scribed in subsection (b) are eligible to carry out activities,

21 with respect to micro- and small enterprises, assisted

22 under this section. Such criteria may include the following:

23 ‘‘(1) The extent to which the recipients of credit

24 from the entity do not have access to the local for25 mal financial sector.
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1 ‘‘(2) The extent to which the recipients of credit

2 from the entity are among the poorest people in the

3 country.

4 ‘‘(3) The extent to which the entity is oriented

5 toward working directly with poor women.

6 ‘‘(4) The extent to which the entity recovers its

7 cost of lending to the poor.

8 ‘‘(5) The extent to which the entity implements

9 a plan to become financially sustainable.

10 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Assistance pro11 vided under this section may only be used to support

12 micro- and small enterprise programs and may not be used

13 to support programs not directly related to the purposes

14 described in subsection (b).

15 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) There are authorized

17 to be appropriated $1,500,000 for each of the fiscal

18 years 2000 and 2001 to carry out this section.

19 ‘‘(B) Amounts authorized to be appropriated

20 under subparagraph (A) shall be made available for

21 the subsidy cost, as defined in section 502(5) of the

22 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, for activities

23 under this section.

24 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—There are

25 authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for each of
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1 the fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for the cost of ad2 ministrative expenses in carrying out this section.

3 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Amounts au4 thorized to be appropriated under this subsection are

5 in addition to amounts otherwise available to carry

6 out this section.’’.

7 SEC. 6. MICROFINANCE LOAN FACILITY.

8 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

9 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), as amended by this Act,

10 is further amended by adding the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 132. UNITED STATES MICROFINANCE LOAN FACILITY.

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the

13 United States Agency for International Development is

14 authorized to establish a United States Microfinance Loan

15 Facility (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Fa16 cility’) to pool and manage the risk from natural disasters,

17 war or civil conflict, national financial crisis, or short-term

18 financial movements that threaten the long-term develop19 ment of United States-supported microfinance institu20 tions.

21 ‘‘(b) SUPERVISORY BOARD OF THE FACILITY.—(1)

22 The Facility shall be supervised by a board composed of

23 the following representatives appointed by the President

24 not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment

25 of Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 1999:
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1 ‘‘(A) 1 representative from the Department of

2 the Treasury.

3 ‘‘(B) 1 representative from the Department of

4 State.

5 ‘‘(C) 1 representative from the United States

6 Agency for International Development.

7 ‘‘(D)(i) 2 United States citizens from United

8 States nongovernmental organizations that operate

9 United States-sponsored microfinance activities.

10 ‘‘(ii) Individuals described in clause (i) shall be

11 appointed for a term of 2 years.

12 ‘‘(2) The Administrator of the United States Agency

13 for International Development or his designee shall serve

14 as Chairman and an additional voting member of the

15 board.

16 ‘‘(c) DISBURSEMENTS.—(1) The board shall make

17 disbursements from the Facility to United States-spon18 sored microfinance institutions to prevent the bankruptcy

19 of such institutions caused by (A) natural disasters, (B)

20 national wars or civil conflict, or (C) national financial cri21 sis or other short term financial movements that threaten

22 the long-term development of United States-supported

23 microfinance institutions. Such disbursements shall be

24 made as concessional loans that are repaid maintaining

25 the real value of the loan to microfinance institutions that
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1 demonstrate the capacity to resume self-sustained oper2 ations within a reasonable time period. The Facility shall

3 provide for loan losses with each loan disbursed.

4 ‘‘(2) During each of the fiscal years 2001 and 2002,

5 funds may not be made available from the Facility until

6 15 days after notification of the availability has been pro7 vided to the congressional committees specified in section

8 634A of this Act in accordance with the procedures appli9 cable to reprogramming notifications under that section.

10 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date

11 on which the last representative to the board is appointed

12 pursuant to subsection (b), the chairman of the board

13 shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional

14 committees a report on the policies, rules, and regulations

15 of the Facility.

16 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—

17 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS TO COVER SUB18 SIDY COSTS.—Of the funds made available to carry

19 out this part for fiscal years 2000 and 2001, up to

20 $5,000,000 may be made available to cover the sub21 sidy cost (as defined in section 502(5) of the Fed22 eral Credit Reform Act of 1990) to carry out this

23 section for each such fiscal year. In addition, of such

24 amount for each fiscal year, up to $lllllll
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1 may be made available for administrative expenses

2 in carrying out this section.

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE AUTHORITIES.—The provi4 sions of section 107A(d) of the Foreign Assistance

5 Act of 1961 (as contained in section 306 of H.R.

6 1486, as reported to the House of Representatives

7 on May 9, 1997) shall be applicable to assistance

8 provided under this section, except that paragraphs

9 (5) through (8) thereof shall not apply.

10 ‘‘(3) RELATION TO OTHER AMOUNTS AVAIL11 ABLE.—Amounts made available under paragraph

12 (1) are in addition to amounts available to carry out

13 this section under any other provision of law.

14 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

15 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com17 mittees’ means the Committee on International Re18 lations of the House of Representatives and the

19 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

20 ‘‘(2) UNITED STATES-SUPPORTED MICRO21 FINANCE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘United States22 supported microfinance institution’ means a finan23 cial intermediary that has received funds made avail24 able under this Act for fiscal year 1980 or any sub25 sequent fiscal year.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. REPORT RELATING TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF

2 MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS.

3 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

4 of the enactment of this Act, the President, in consultation

5 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for

6 International Development, the Secretary of State, and

7 the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prepare and transmit

8 to the appropriate congressional committees a report on

9 the most cost-effective methods for increasing the access

10 of poor people to credit, other financial services, and re11 lated training.

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection

13 (a)—

14 (1) should include how the President, in con15 sultation with the Administrator of the United

16 States Agency for International Development, the

17 Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treas18 ury, will jointly develop a comprehensive strategy for

19 advancing the global microenterprise sector in a way

20 that maintains market principles while assuring that

21 the very poor, particularly women, obtain access to

22 financial services; and

23 (2) shall provide guidelines and recommenda24 tions for—
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1 (A) instruments to assist microenterprise

2 networks to develop multi-country and regional

3 microlending programs;

4 (B) technical assistance to foreign govern5 ments, foreign central banks and regulatory en6 tities to improve the policy environment for

7 microfinance institutions, and to strengthen the

8 capacity of supervisory bodies to supervise

9 microcredit institutions;

10 (C) the potential for federal chartering of

11 United States-based international microfinance

12 network institutions, including proposed legisla13 tion;

14 (D) instruments to increase investor con15 fidence in microcredit institutions which would

16 strengthen the long-term financial position of

17 the microcredit institutions and attract capital

18 from private sector entities and individuals,

19 such as a rating system for microcredit institu20 tions and local credit bureaus;

21 (E) an agenda for integrating microfinance

22 into United States foreign policy initiatives

23 seeking to develop and strengthen the global fi24 nance sector; and
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1 (F) innovative instruments to attract funds

2 from the capital markets, such as instruments

3 for leveraging funds from the local commercial

4 banking sector, and the securitization of

5 microloan portfolios.

6 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE7 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres8 sional committees’’ means the Committee on International

9 Relations of the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

11 SEC. 8. UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DE12 VELOPMENT AS GLOBAL LEADER AND COOR13 DINATOR OF BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL

14 MICROENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES.

15 (a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—The Congress finds and

16 declares that—

17 (1) the United States can provide leadership to

18 other bilateral and multilateral development agencies

19 as such agencies expand their support to the micro20 enterprise sector; and

21 (2) the United States should seek to improve

22 coordination among G–7 countries in the support of

23 the microenterprise sector in order to leverage the

24 investment of the United States with that of other

25 donor nations.
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1 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

2 the Congress that—

3 (1) the Administrator of the United States

4 Agency for International Development and the Sec5 retary of State should seek to support and strength6 en the effectiveness of microfinance activities in

7 United Nations agencies, such as the International

8 Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the

9 United Nations Development Program (UNDP),

10 which have provided key leadership in developing the

11 microenterprise sector; and

12 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury should in13 struct each United States Executive Director of the

14 Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to advo15 cate the development of a coherent and coordinated

16 strategy to support the microenterprise sector and

17 an increase of multilateral resource flows for the

18 purposes of building microenterprise retail and

19 wholesale intermediaries.

Æ